Getting the Interview

Recruiters#

Recruitment agencies vary wildly in quality, and their usefulness varies from location to location. Keep in mind that you are a product to them; their business model is to throw as many viable bodies at their client as acceptable in the hope one sticks.

If they have a special deal to source candidates for an employer, this might be a good thing, but often you will have recruiters that do cold pitches with you to test the material. In some locations, tech recruiters are the norm for how you land your first job. In others, they are total wastes of time. Ask around to figure out how your local tech scene works.

Portfolios#

You don’t need an all-singing, all-dancing portfolio page. You don’t need a verdant green commit history. People barely look at that. They don’t have time. You just have to demonstrate that you’ve done cool shit and, optionally, covered your bases.

If your work is less visual in nature, create an active blog. It’s more about instantly verifiable proof of work with one exception, Design/UX positions strongly benefit from great portfolios.

"For folks worried about their contributions… No one cares! You can impress most hiring managers with only three contribs:

1. Something simple, built flawlessly. Seriously. Like one class or a single js file.
2. Something complete. A small app / site / lib. Tests. Docs.
3. Something with a story (my fave!) It could be a single line of code."

- Mekka Okereke

Resumes#

You do need to be able to talk well about whatever you put on your resume, so make sure that everything on there is legit. Keep it one page; use this template for ideas. Use Canva Resume templates to make it visually interesting.

For whatever reason, interviewers often print out your resume, bring it to the interview, and then stare at it instead of talking to you like a normal human being.

Have two to three different versions of your resume prepared to tell the story that you want to tell— ditto with your cold email draft, self-intro, or cover letter. Learn from modern internet advertising: MORE TARGETING IS ALWAYS GOOD.

Cover letters#

A cover letter shows that you know what the job is about and have taken the time to personalize your pitch. A good cover letter makes reviewers sit up and pay attention; sometimes, this calls for creative measures.

Cover letters can be componentized:

• Write three different forms of self-introduction.
• Write a middle part that directly responds to line items in the job ad.
• Write a few boilerplate endings.
• Play mix and match for each company, matching the tone and relevance of your background to the job in question.

If you find yourself writing too many custom cover letters, this is a hint you may be casting your net too wide, and you may not be sure of what you want. It’s also exhausting!

Industry certifications#

The harder it is to get a certification the more valuable it is. Kelsey Hightower attributes his big break to the CompTIA A+ certification, which takes at least a year of study/experience. Cisco’s CCNA takes a month and is well recognized for sysadmin/network engineers.

The Cybersecurity field has equivalent certifications with CompTIA, EC-Council, and GSEC. The AWS Cloud Practitioner certificate takes up to two months, but it is enough for people to recommend you based on it. It demonstrates dedication and serves as a talking point and understood base of knowledge.

Note: No equivalent certificate exists for frontend development.

Networking#

Don’t be shy – Everybody should know that you are job hunting! Friends LOVE helping their friends get jobs! Especially if drinks are on you. Head to meetups and conferences; you might run into someone who can give you a referral or even hiring managers who specifically go to these events to find people like you! Put the fact that you are looking on your site, LinkedIn, and Twitter bio.

In particular, people are very supportive on Twitter, and I’ve seen junior developers get jobs with a single “I’m looking! Here’s what I do!” Tweet. Use what already works and have a good Tweet-sized pitch of yourself; see threads like this for inspiration. Social media can be great for introverts because you don’t need to rely on real-time, face-to-face conversation to start your job seeking.

“For my first job, I applied to two jobs and got one offer. The one I got the offer for, I had a recommendation straight to the CEO from a friend as well as connections with several employees over Twitter, and I made a custom website for that company specifically for them, as well as a video of a skateboarding guinea pig. It was enough to stand out and get me to the top of the interview list.”

- Jeff Escalante

Mock interviews#

You can get over a lot of nerves by just having a few friends (or a professional) put you through some mock interviews. You can even find some videos and podcasts that coach you through a mock interview. Remember that they’re not merely assessing whether you can come up with the right solution. They’re also looking for your communication skills, eagerness to learn, and problem-solving process. Some hiring managers are so open that you can even find out the kind of questions they like to ask, based on their own tweets and media appearances. Research them and practice answering them.